Craft Your Blog

Category Archives: knitting

Notes from the Road – Yarn Harlot Edition

knitting by the fire

I had such an amazing fun weekend at Mount Magazine with 18 other knitters and the Yarn Harlot, aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. For the uninitiated, Stephanie is probably the only knitting humor writer to come out of Canada, and because you can’t quite make a living writing knitting humor, she also teaches and speaks about knitting. This weekend was a retreat ... Read More »

And Then, Things Got Real

knitting book samples

I’m having a lot of trouble focusing today (which is actually yesterday, as you read this, but I’m sure it’s still true). For one thing, the major backyard renovation that’s been going on for a month (except for those two weeks in the middle when it wasn’t going) has gone into overdrive with the pouring of mass quantities of concrete. ... Read More »

Some Thoughts on Passion, Faith, and Growing up

lace knitting magic

The other morning the Bit and I were snuggling in bed, trying to keep the day from starting, and she asked me “what do you want to be when you grow up?” The question kind of startled me. First, because I figured she thought I was already a grownup (she’s pretty sure that happens around age 12). Second, because I ... Read More »

Write a Blurb for Your Life

blurb your life

There’s a lot of stuff happening right now that keeps me from wanting to work. There’s the news, of course, which is hard to resist checking in on even when there’s nothing new happening. I’ve been nursing an injury that has my right hand and arm not feeling well for more than a week, which has kept me away from ... Read More »

Creativity Runs in the Family

bit knitting pretend play

The Bit has been interested in my knitting for a long time, and she likes to pretend to knit, which usually involves hitting the knitting needles together or hitting them on things. But sometimes she really gets into the illusion, like she did over the weekend. We were hanging out upstairs together, and I had gone downstairs to take care ... Read More »

A Valentine from a Knitter

knit heart charms

In the spirit of embracing creative challenges, as I have been trying to do this year, I signed up to take part in a “mystery muse” program this month, which involves giving two handmade gifts to someone and receiving two gifts from someone else. I decided to make my first gift a knit heart, because it’s that time of year, ... Read More »

Embracing Creative Challenges

create

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I’m doing the One Little Word challenge for 2013. My challenge is to live with the word create through the year. One way I’m doing that is to embrace creative challenges that come along that can help me to stretch and do some things I might not do otherwise. So suddenly, because ... Read More »

Crafting Holiday Goodies

pasta olliblocks

My daughter is already home from school for winter break, and it’s freaking me out a little bit. But it was nice that I got to create some little gifts for her classmates and teacher before the rush of the holidays was fully upon us. I made two little things for the kids that your kids might like, too, if ... Read More »

Knitting Geekery in Video Form

I really wanted to share all my finds from the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza with you in a way that wouldn’t require me writing or you reading the longest blog post in the history of knitting blogs, so I decided to make a video. This is my first video ever and I didn’t edit it at all, so bear that ... Read More »

Road Trips, Learning and the Fastest Knitter in the Room

math for knitters

Over the weekend I went to Hot Springs for the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza. It was so fun I can’t even tell you. You probably don’t want to know, unless you’re a knitting geek too. It was truly an extravagant event, full of gorgeous fibers, beautiful people and long, lovely stretches spent knitting, sometimes with great conversation to go with ... Read More »

A Knit with Greatness

I’m geeking out so hard right now, y’all! As you read this I am probably on my way to the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza. It’s a very elaborate name for what I hope will be a great time spent with other knitters and yarn crafters, and which I will probably leave much richer in fiber and poorer in, well, money. ... Read More »

Wanted: Local Moms with Adorable Babies

cotton shrug

People who keep in touch with me on a semi-regular basis know that I’m working on a book all about knitting for babies. It will feature a bunch of relatively easy but still fun designs for kids from birth to age 1. The key to any book like this is having pictures of kids in the outfits and interacting with ... Read More »